βάτραχος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Imitative of croaking, but this imitation has probably taken place not in Greek, but the Greek has borrowed from Semitic, compare Hebrew צְפַרְדֵּעַ (ṣəp̄ardḗaʿ), Arabic ضَفْدَع (ḍafdaʿ), considering that in the dialect of Zakynthos the frog is matching the Semitic with σπορδακάς (spordakás) – unless of course one must find that Semitic and Greek have borrowed from an unknown third.

Pronunciation

 

Noun

βᾰ́τρᾰχος (bátrakhos) m (genitive βᾰτρᾰ́χου); second declension

  1. frog
    • Aristophanes, Frogs, 207.
      βατράχων κύκνων θαυμαστά.
      batrákhōn kúknōn thaumastá.
      Most amazing [songs] by the swanlike frogs.

Inflection

Derived terms

  • βατραχομυομαχία (batrakhomuomakhía)

Descendants

References

  • Brown, John Pairman (1995) Israel and Hellas (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft; 231), volume I, Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, page 336
  • Brown, John Pairman (2000) Israel and Hellas (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft; 276), volume II, Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, page 60

Further reading


Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Ancient Greek βάτραχος (bátrakhos, frog).

Noun

βάτραχος (vátrachos) m (plural βάτραχοι)

  1. frog

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

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